My foray into the world of sports betting was as a punter, primarily following the ups and downs (well, mostly downs…) of my local team as they battled against the ever-present threat of relegation. Over time, I began to become more and more interested in the ins and outs of various strategies and became adept at spotting a good operator.
My day job was, at the time, writing and editing for a local newspaper, so turning my professional skills to my interest in sports betting followed naturally. I started writing about sports betting as a hobby initially with my own blog, analysing odds and providing betting tips where I thought I could find value. Eventually, I was headhunted to write the same content for a betting firm, which resulted in me leaving my local paper job behind and turning my professional interests solely to sports betting writing by 2017. Since then, I have been proud of the body of work I have been able to produce.
Using my interest in all aspects of the sports and gambling world to guide me, I now write for Betting.net, compiling operator reviews, bonus reviews, and sharing the tips and tricks across our various sports betting guides. When I’m not at my keyboard, I am an avid rock climber, with an ultimate goal of eventually ascending the Seven Peaks — if I can fit it in between penning the latest bookmaker review, that is!
Here at betting.net, we are striving to find the best legal sportsbook across the US for you – our readers! Unfortunately, now and again, our experts happen to spot a few snakes in the grass.
The blacklisted sportsbook section of our website plans to highlight the sportsbooks we want our readers to avoid at all costs. Below, our blacklisted sportsbook US review intends to equip you with enough industry knowledge to spot these snakes for yourself, what lengths we go to uncover the best sportsbooks across the US, as well as our top sportsbook recommendation.
Why you should be cautious of our blacklisted operators – The best bonuses do not always come from the best sportsbooks.
Looking for an up to date list of blacklisted bookmakers USA? It takes a lot to get under our professionals’ skin, but one thing that does ruffle our feathers is dishonesty and the fraudulent behavior of blacklisted sportsbooks. We at betting.net are looking to create an environment that promotes safe and secure online gaming across the US, so we feel obliged to highlight any negative and dishonest sportsbooks accordingly. There are many ways that a sportsbook could find itself featured on our backlisted sportsbook US page. Below, we itemize a few key attributes.
Incredibly slow withdrawal system, hard to get winnings
Negative feedback online
Poor customer service responses reported
Putting client funds at risk
The online sportsbook world is filled with a nice balance of risk and reward. We wish to keep it that way! We have found many of our blacklisted sportsbooks lacking in any sort of client security. Whether that’s storing client finds in one joint bank account, hosting no encryption technology on-site, or providing no KYC process at the start of the sign-up process. This blatant disregard for client security is worrying and could allow for external threats to be successful. We could see our readers lose money, be victims of fraud, and put under an extreme amount of stress – something we at betting.net cannot sit back and ignore.
Little customer support and guidance
Whether you are new to the online sportsbook world or not, the need for help and guidance is often needed. These can be simple tasks such as finding out how to unlock your latest promotion, how to deposit into your account, or when you can expect to receive your bonus credits. If this support is non-responsive, lacking insufficient knowledge, or requires you to seek help elsewhere, your overall sportsbook experience is going to be dampened.
Complex bonus terms and conditions
If you are just starting out on your sportsbook journey, it can be difficult to understand where to begin, which bonuses are worthwhile, and how to decipher the industry jargon – often finding it difficult to see the wood between the trees.When we are reviewing blacklisted sportsbooks, our experts have noted that they steer towards using overcomplicated phrasing, wording, and incorporating jargon in a way to confuse the reader. Thankfully, here at betting.net, we do a lot of detective work for you and fill our operator reviews with a concise yet comprehensive analysis of the terms and conditions.
If we do find anything untoward, you can rest assured that these online US sportsbooks will find their way into our blacklisted sportsbook category.
Alternatives to blacklisted operators – Take advantage of our honest reviews and authentic comparisons
We at betting.net believe we are home to the most passionate crowd of industry experts across the US.
Our experts come from all betting backgrounds, have held various roles within the industry, and have one clear objective when researching into online sportsbooks – to present honest and authentic information on the best online sportsbooks to our readers in an easily digestible fashion. A difficult task when you consider just how seriously we critique each online sportsbook and how many key attributes we dive further into.
We have spent many years perfecting and curating our craft. Below, we offer you an insight into how we plan to dissect each online sportsbook, why each attribute is important, and which assets would raise concerns or place an operator into our blacklisted sportsbook category.
How we test operators – rigorous and meticulous to ensure our readers’ safety
Security: As we have mentioned previously in our blacklisted sportsbook US review, the security of our readers is one of our main concerns when reviewing the best online sportsbooks across the US. We at betting.net can do many simple checks, including reviewing how client funds are stored, requesting further information on the encryption technology used, reading through the privacy policy, and finding out whether client details are shared with third parties.
Licensing: The core component of any legitimate US sportsbook is the licensing and regulating body. Due to the strict state-specific laws, rules, and regulations, the need for a license is critical for us to deem an operator safe.
Thankfully, the most reputable US sportsbook will wear their badge of honor with pride – allowing for our experts to quickly identify whether or not a sportsbook will fall into our blacklisted bookmakers’ category! If we are unable to find a licensing certificate on-site, we will be bold enough to suggest that you should be staying clear of that operator.
Customer Support: We dive deeper into the importance of testing customer support later in this blacklisted sportsbook US review. However, as a general rule, we would expect the top-performing online sportsbooks to provide a varied selection of ways for their users to get in contact.
Usually, we would find the email, live chat, telephone, on-site form, or dedicated FAQ section available from those we consider the best across the US. A mix of the above would be sufficient also. However, if your chosen sportsbook offers only one option, we would suggest reviewing our blacklisted sportsbook list to ensure your chosen operator does not feature!
Market Availability & Live Streaming: Finding a site that offers a solid selection of sporting markets and a live streaming option is a great way to add some extra enjoyment to your online sportsbook experience.
Finding a site that offers live streaming, cash-out, and in-play betting on various sports can really add to the excitement and aid damage control! However, we would always be wary of sites that suspend the cash-out facility at critical moments or if you only have one leg of your parlay to finish. This sort of behavior would earn a spot on our blacklisted sportsbook list and should not be tolerated.
Bonuses and Promotions: When compiling our sportsbook reviews, we always like to dive deeper into the terms and conditions surrounding bonuses, promotions, and VIP programs.
This tends to be the initial appeal for most of our readers, so we make sure that any online sportsbook you are looking to join is offering bonus terms that match the bonus itself! If we begin to uncover complex terms, unnecessary jargon, or bizarre wagering requirements, we are quick to consider whether this particular sportsbook needs to join our list of blacklisted sportsbooks.
Usability, Look & Feel: This particular section is probably the hardest to decipher whether they are legitimate or not.
With such complex operations needed to go undetected online, backlisted sportsbooks spend plenty of time making their site run smoothly, feel welcoming, and be interactive. While this is not ideal for average users, our experts will note if there seems to be any lagging, sudden platform amendments, and any major defects.
If you are after a whole host of legitimate promotions and sportsbook bonuses, SkyBet has you covered, Boasting competitive odds and a plethora of sporting markets, you can place your boosted parlays on tennis, NFL, NHL, MLS, MLB, UFC, and plenty of other niche sporting markets, within a few clicks. Depositing and withdrawing from your account is a seamless process too, plenty of reputable and reliable payment providers are on offer, as well as the staples of the sportsbook industry, the debit and credit card deposit. Licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, you can rest assured that all regulations are adhered to with the strictest coherence. Of course, it is worth noting that SkyBet is not currently available to the legal US sports betting scene. However, we at betting.net would certainly recommend SkyBet to all of our readers when this comes to fruition.
Our top tips for a secure gaming experience – check yourself before you wreck yourself.
The appeal of lucrative deposit-match bonuses, 100s of free bets, and parlay boosts may appeal on the outside. But once a blacklisted sportsbook has you signed up and your money has been deposited, the appeal may quickly leave once you are on the inside!
Below, we share our top tips for a secure gaming experience, highlighting the importance of selecting an honest operator and how to avoid a blacklisted sportsbook at all costs!
Is your sportsbook licensed?
Our blacklisted sportsbook US review discusses the importance of licensing and security throughout, and it’s our top tip for a valid reason.
Sportsbooks across the US have to adhere to a very strict code of conduct that varies from state to state. In some states, using online sportsbooks is deemed illegal; others will allow sportsbook betting under certain circumstances, others will allow sportsbook betting, in-play betting, cash-out, futures, and all other facilities associated with it, so you need to check your sportsbook supports and holds the correct state license.
Not only this, but the licensing check is a lot simpler than you’d imagine. Most official and legal online sportsbooks will present their certification freely at the bottom of their landing page or app. Usually, next to some information regarding their contact info, safer gambling measures, and their terms and conditions.
How responsive is your sportsbook’s customer service?
Encountering a problem with your online sportsbook is less than ideal at the best of times, let alone with terrible customer support and response times.
To check just how responsive your support staff is, we recommend sending an email or live chat directly, requesting the answer to a relatively basic question that you already know the answer to. From this, you can quickly see how promptly your query is resolved, how knowledgeable your staff is, which method you are likely to use for urgent queries going forward.
Have you checked the terms and conditions?
We know it’s boring. But it is incredibly important that all terms and conditions are checked thoroughly before signing up for your online sportsbook or opting into their latest promotion.
Thankfully, we at betting.net love researching the terms associated with online sportsbooks and have made the task nice and easy for you. Simply head to one of our comprehensive operator reviews to uncover all you need to know about the bonuses and sign-up terms associated with your online operator.
If you can’t find them in our operator comparisons or reviews section, you may have to head on over to our blacklisted sportsbook category. In which case, we would advise looking for another sportsbook too!
Head over to the app store
Once you have taken advantage of our expert reviews, we would also advise doing some external research and additional homework to find out exactly what kind of operator you are signing up to. We recommend searching through real-user reviews online and searching further into the comments left on their relevant apps in their respective app stores. So, in a nutshell, be sure to head over to your handsets app store to uncover some honest feedback on your potential new sportsbook – and that’s an order!
Conclusion – Stay clear of blacklisted sportsbooks
As we draw our blacklisted sportsbooks US review to a close, we wanted to highlight a few key considerations to take away with you in the hope of securing a safe and entertaining online sportsbook experience.
Firstly, it is advisable to do your research before signing up and depositing your hard-earned cash into any US sportsbook. As we have reiterated throughout this blacklisted sportsbook review, we insist you take advantage of our operator reviews and comparisons to uncover a great deal of info surrounding your chosen platform.
We also advise taking to the internet, play store, and apple app store, where you will find a great selection of real-user reviews from other bettor’s who have had experience using your preferred sportsbook.
Finally, if in doubt, check it out! Any queries you may have surrounding your sportsbook should be answered competently by their customer support team or, at least, provide sufficient advice via an FAQ page. If not, you may have stumbled across a blacklisted sportsbook – time to search for a new spot to place your wagers!
💯How can I tell if my sportsbook is dishonest and untrustworthy?
Here at betting.net, we pride ourselves on offering our readers the most honest and up to date information on sportsbooks across the US.You’ll find the good, the bad, and the ugly on-site, as we leave no stone unturned in our attempt to showcase what each platform has to offer our readers!For a safe and secure betting experience, we recommend taking advantage of our online operator reviews and comparisons. If you have already signed up to a sportsbook, and are concerned you may have signed up to an untrustworthy operator, you can double-check to see if they feature on our blacklisted sportsbook section.
❓ I keep receiving an error message when I try to withdraw from my sportsbook?
Unfortunately, there are numerous techniques that will be used by blacklisted sportsbooks to ensure your money stays with them for as long as possible, if not indefinitely. From the initial sign-up process, blacklisted sportsbooks will use lucrative sign-up bonuses to entice users in and create a platform that is easy-to-use, easy on the eye, and looks legitimate to appear above board. Unfortunately, it is not until much further down the line when users look to withdraw their cash do they realise that the sportsbook they have signed up for is, in fact, fraudulent. By this time, it is too late. To avoid any dramas, we at betting.net have devoted a section of our site to highlighting dishonest operators. Here, you will find many blacklisted sportsbooks and top operator’s to avoid.
🌟 Help! My bonus credits have not been credited into my account!
When compiling our list of the best sportsbooks across the US, it was inevitable we would come across some dishonest and fraudulent operators. Thankfully, our experts are cleverly versed in how to find these types of operators, and they will soon find themselves displayed on the blacklisted sportsbooks section of our site.
